MAK

Ask to stay on the waiting list for your top 3 choices. I know sooooo many kids who got surprise news of acceptance 1-2 months before the school started. Newstead Wood (Grammar School) had 3 places open one week before the new school term! Best of luck.

alice Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Reverse detection theory would require you to > leave your home and eat a banana. When you have > only the peel in your hand you will be standing > outside the door of the one you seek. Knock it. Haha! Brilliant!

Thank you.

How much does he charge for the 45 mins sessions plz? Thank you.

what a positive post. I'll take the p13 bus now for a change. thanks. hehe.

really sorry to hear this. how frightening. :(

Wow, ?1000! Wish I bought a ticket now! Hehe.

This is so upsetting and scary esp' as it happened around 1pm with children around! I go jogging around the park often and now I feel hesitant to even go there! Hope that evil scum is caught asap and my thoughts are with the victim who was stabbed.

Great idea. Thank you for the suggestion. The girls will meet their new class fellows in a few weeks time. Excited for that. :)

My daughter is the only one going from her state primary but hopefully, she will settle in quickly esp' as they have a bonding trip in Sept. Lol - I too felt a little ridiculous asking the coach company as we don't live far from JAGs. However, I'd prefer her to go by the school coach only for safety reasons and a peace of mind esp' for the first year. (The recent Goose Green School attempted child kidnapping incident keeps creeping to mind sadly.) I'll contact the coach company again to ask if they can put in an extra stop. Thank you so much for the suggestion. Best of luck to your daughter in Sept. :)

My daughter is also starting there in Yr 7. Worried about the same prob' as you esp' as she's so young as well. There is no easy bus route either. She will have to take 2 buses there with a bit of walking in between. I looked into using the school coaches but the closest stop is 18 mins walk away! You could check if the school coaches go past your road.

Hi Could any parents give any advice on how to prepare kids for the 7+ and 11+ exams at Dulwich College and Alleyn's, please? There is a huge range of books selling at WHSmiths with different exam formats and I'm not sure which ones to buy. Could anyone kindly advise me what exam preparation books to focus on please e.g. GL Assessment, Schofield, Sims Book, Bond Books, CPG, Letts etc? Any help would be highly appreciated. Thank you. :)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3969884/Wild-baying-mob-30-schoolchildren-caught-camera-attacking-two-police-officers-wrestle-one-floor-repeatedly-stamp-head.html http://metro.co.uk/2016/11/25/shocking-video-shows-30-school-kids-attacking-two-police-officers-6282849/ ^ This happened in New Cross...not far from Dulwich. Does anyone know which school these school-kids belonged to please? This is absolutely shocking. I heard that two gangs from two schools were involved...one being Haberdashers Aske's Hatcham College.

I have used TAXI Sky Cars Group twice now for going and coming back from the airport. We were 7 passengers with lots of luggage. They gave us baby and toddler seats as well. Really pleased with their service. Would use again. Tel: 0208 687 0707 They text you the exact fare you owe plus the other details.

That's scary. Really sorry to hear that. Thanks for informing as I always check my phone for the time outside.

rendelharris Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It's Harris Boys' Academy East Dulwich > (http://www.harrisdulwichboys.org.uk/), and yes > well worth informing the school: all schools take > their public image very seriously and will send > teachers out into the streets to check up on > things if their kids are letting the school > reputation down, to identify and deal with pupils > either then or when they're back in school. > Schools have the power to sanction pupils > misbehaving on the way to and from school, > particularly if they're representing the school by > wearing the uniform, it's part of the school/pupil > contract. Let the school know, they honestly will > thank you for it. I wish this was true for all schools. I have seen a number of incidents with Harris boys. Once I witnessed the boys fighting with baked bean cans and another time a Harris boy became really offended at my 1.5 year old child for staring at him at the bus-stop!!!! I complained to the school about the baked bean incident and the defensive receptionist said I needed to understand that the boys come from deprived backgrounds etc etc! (I sensed she was tired of these complaints.) I don't feel that the school are doing enough though.

Friddle's cakes all the way! :)

Growlybear - Wow...well done to your daughter for getting an A* in Maths. Amazing achievement. Pugwash - Great to hear Kumon helped her in the long-run. Thank you both for your replies.

Goodliz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My eldest did Kumon English when he was in year 1 > and 2 as he had been put forward for literacy > interventions at school so we thought we had > better do some extra at home to help him catch up. > > It really did help to close the gap with his > literacy but once we felt he had caught up we > stopped it. This was also for a number of other > reasons: > Money. > It was a bit of a battle to get him to do it every > day. > I felt mean making him do it every day. > > Whether it was the Kumon that helped close the gap > or just development and teaching at school I don't > know (and will never know) - but I do think it was > worth it for that period of time as it gave us a > structure for helping him at home. > > All that is years ago now as he has just started > year 7 and is at secondary school. I found the > Bonds books good for extra stuff to do at home if > it was needed. I too feel so mean making my children do it as they find it so repetitive and boring. I want their learning experience to be fun. Will look into getting those Bond books. Thank you for sharing your experience and the suggestions. :)

Very impressed. :) phobic3000 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I took the dog in our shop for a walk last week. > He curled one out in the park, I picked it up and > put it in the bin. Then on the way back he did > another much bigger one on the pavement outside > someone's house! I had only taken the one bag with > me and it was used for the first poo... > > I had to phone my colleague to bring me a bag > whilst I stood guard for 10 minutes. Next time > I'll take two bags!!

This is a huge issue esp' on Friend Road and Dunstan's Road where schoolkids walk - and there are dog bins there as well! I've written to the council about it but there is only so much they can do. If you are a dog owner, please you have a legal duty to clean up every time your dog poops in a public place. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35378499 ^ Superb idea.

mybaby178 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi I did Kumon with my eldest for about 1 year, it > is great for mental maths skills but no so much > for word problems or tying into what they are > learning at school. My child has an excellent > recall of all timetables. division and is very > fast in her mental maths test and alot of this is > down to Kumon. We stopped when it got onto a topic > that she was not going to cover in school for at > least another 2 years and didnt see the point in > her doing it. > > Without sounding harsh if your child needs Kumon > and extra tuition and is still not at the level > that they should be for the 11 plus you might just > have to accept that this isn't the right path for > them. If they need all this extra help just to > get them into a school - what will happen once > they are in and can't keep up with those children > that are naturally able to cope and who haven't > been heavily tutored. Thank you so much for the invaluable advice and it's great to hear another parent's personal experience with the Kumon programme.

bawdy-nan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why not just stick with school? I'm pretty sure > they'll be learning what they need already (unless > they're really struggling and need extra support, > but that's likely to be given in school anyway). > Why not just give up on it and have a more relaxed > (fun?) time with your children. It's a cliche, but > they grow up so quickly and as they progress > through school the pressure to perform only > intensifies. If you want to do "improving" things > with them there's a good deal to be said for > talking to them and getting them to talk about and > develop their ideas. Yes, eldest was struggling a lot at school and needed extra support. Thanks for your great advice. :)

I'd love to hear other people's personal experiences on the Maths & English Kumon programme please. My eldest has been doing Kumon for almost 6 years. I've spent over ?8000 on both the English and Maths programme. My 2nd child is also doing Kumon now. The problems I face with the Kumon method is that it: - is really repetitive - it is boring and monotonous - if you don't complete the sheets in 10 mins you have to re-do all the sheets - it is really expensive at ?120 per month - very time consuming eg we spent 2.5 hours on it daily! - it doesn't follow the national curriculum at all - it requires patience, patience and more patience esp' when kids hate doing it - it requires parental guidance - parents have to mark all the sheets themselves - I still have to pay for additional private tutoring! - I've never ever seen my children smile while doing Kumon - even the face on the Kumon logo is looking gloomy and depressed! My eldest had a private 11+ assessment and the feedback shocked me. They're no where near prepared for sitting the 11+ exams. This is what has upset me. I've spent so many hours and so much money investing in Kumon and it all feels like a complete waste. I am seriously thinking to leave the programme. I've spoken to the instructors but naturally they have to sell their business. I'd really love to hear other people's personal experiences please?

Glad you reported the incident and sorry to hear you had a bad experience.